April 14 workshop aims to help Arkansans plan to keep the farm in the family

SEARCY — Keeping the family farm in the family can be more complicated than many realize. The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is working to help farm families and other interested Arkansans plan for the inevitable with a second succession planning meeting on April 14.
Sherri Sanders, White County agriculture extension agent for the Division of Agriculture, said reaction to the first session, held Feb. 25, helped shape the upcoming meeting agenda.
“Our first session got the conversation started,” Sanders said. “It’s emotional, it’s hard. You’re coming to terms with your death or retirement from your farm that’s been in the family for generations. Most people just don’t talk about it, and they think they’re OK because they’ve got a will — but a will isn’t a succession plan. It doesn’t lay out who gets what, or how the farm will be run.
“This second session is still for farmers and ranchers, but the information can really apply to anybody who wants to plan for their estate,” she said. “Because estate taxes, power of attorney and living wills affect everybody.”

Rusty Rumley, senior staff attorney for the National Agricultural Law Center in Fayetteville, Arkansas, will be the meeting’s featured speaker.
“People know they need to find an attorney, but they don’t know what to be prepared for at that first meeting,” Sanders said, noting that attorneys typically charge by the hour. “Rusty will help them understand how to prepare to meet with that attorney.”
The session will take place at 6 p.m. at the White County Extension Office, located at 2400 Old Searcy Landing Road in Searcy, Arkansas. The cost to attend is $25 per person, which includes dinner.
The deadline to register online is April 7.